(Reston, Manassas, and Leesburg, VA – 4/7/2017) Spring is sports season for many amateur athletes and weekend warriors in the Northern Virginia area. It's also ankle sprain season for one area foot and ankle surgeon.

Shaun Hafner, DPM, FACFAS, a foot and ankle surgeon with offices in Reston, Manassas, and Leesburg, says ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries he treats this time of year.

"As people emerge from their winter hibernation and start to get active again, they can injure their ankles playing sports such as basketball, baseball, tennis and soccer," he says.

Anyone who injures an ankle requires prompt medical treatment, whether it's their first sprain or their fifth. Rest, ice, compression and elevation (R.I.C.E.) can reduce swelling and pain until the ankle can be evaluated and treated by a foot and ankle surgeon. A sprain may not always be a sprain; the ankle could be fractured.

Hafner notes that many athletes develop chronic ankle instability from repeated ankle sprains, causing their ankle to frequently "give way." In some cases these players may require surgery. Proper rehabilitation of an ankle sprain reduces the likelihood of developing chronic ankle instability.